Electric flatiron



' March 17. 1925. 1,529,922 I T. C. RUSSELL ELECTRIC FLATIRON 2 FiledAug. 8. 1923 I 4/ 34 wri INVENTQR.

TORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES THOMAS C. RUSSELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC FLATIRbN.

Application filed August 8, 1923. Serial No. 656,338.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. RUssnLn, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric F latirons, of which the following is a speclfication.

My invention relates to electric flat irons and among the importantobjects of the mvention are; to provide improved construction andarrangement for causing the heat generated by the electric heatingelement to be confined to and concentrated on a steel ironing plate orface, so that the iron will be quick heating and will maintain theneccssary heat during ironing operation with minimum currentconsumption; to provide improved terminal support rigidly secured to theiron body, but air insulated therefrom so that the terminal blades willbe protected against excessive heat; to provide improved constructionand arrangement for keepin the enclosing shell well insulated from theiron body so that the handle mounted on top of the shell will be coolfor comfortable operating of the iron, an important feature being theseparation of the lower edge of the shell from the ironing face bysufficient air gap to preven'theat conduction to the shell; to provideimproved construction and arrangement for permitting removal of thehandle and enclosing shell without disturbing inan wise the terminalblades and the heating e ement connections therewith; and in general toproduce an economical quickheating iron which will maintain properironing temperature under the heaviest service and which can be readilyand easily .manipulated without discomforting or tiring the operator.

The above and other features of my invention are incorporated in theiron disclosed von the accompanying drawing, in which I Fig. 1 is avertical central sectional view, and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the iron body with the enclosing shell and partsupported thereby removed.

The iron body comprises the weight 5 and the steel face or base 6, withthe heating ele-- ment 7 secured between them. The heatin element ispreferably of the type disclosed in my co-pending application, SerialNo. 550,335, filed April 7, 1922, the electric heata which secures ingwire being separated and insulated from the steel face only by a thinsheet of mica 8, but insulated from the weight 5 by a comparativelyheavy pad 9 of asbestos. By means of the screws 10 and 11 the ispowerfully drawn toward the steel face so that the heating element iscompressed and its wires brought as close to the steel face as possiblewithout actual contact therewith. The heat generated by the heatingelement is therefore concentrated on the steel face which becomesquickly heated to proper ironing temperature and is always kept hot. Theheavy asbestos pad or blanket 9 between the heating element and the weiht retards the transit of heat to the weig t so that during an ironinoperation practically all of the heat is ta en up by the face 6 andutilized for ironing purposes.

The terminal blades 12 and 13 for the heating element are supported onthe sheet metal frame 14. To accommodate this frame g the weight 5 hasthe notch or pocket 15 at its rear end and the depression 16 in front ofthe notch. At its front end the frame has the seating flange 17 whichrests in the depression 16 and receives the screw 11 the weight to thesteel face. At its rear end the frame extends downwardly and is providedwith feet 18 which rest on the steel face, the frame arching over thespaces 15 and 16. The intermediate section 19 of the frame is inclinedand the blades 12 and 13 are secured thereto.- As shown-each blade has aseating flange 20 and a threaded stud 21, the stud passing through awasher 22 and through openings in the frame, insulation 23 beingprovided to insulate the blades from the frame, the blades being securedby means of nuts 24 engaging the threaded studs 21. From each bladedepends a terminal strip 25 secured on the stud between thecorrespondingnut 24 and a nut 26, the ends 27 of the heating elementbeing secured to the strip by means of terminal screws 27'. The frame 14with the terminal thereon is separated from the weight and the steelfaceby considerable air space so that the blades are ke t oomparativelycool. As the frame touclibs only at its front and rear end against hotsurfaces there will be very little conduction through the frame to theterminal blades.

Surrounding the weight and terminal supporting frame is the enclosingshell 28 which is preferably stamped integral from thin weight 5 of heatsheet metal. On the shell top rests the handle H. The handle is of heatinsulating material such as wood and has the legs 29 and 30 whose endsfit intoferrules 31 and 32 formed of sheet metal and having contact withthe shell only with their points or with a sufficient air gap 43intervening to 1 prevent direct heat conduction to the shell from thebase 6. The front, sidesand rear of the shell are also separated fromthe weight by adequate air space, as shown. The

top of the weight is beveled sufiiciently at its rear end to leave theincreased insulating air space 43' which shields the top against heatparticularly below that part of the handle which is engaged most of thetime by the operators hand. The shell is thus separated throughout itsextent by adequate insulating air space and from direct contact with anyof the hot metallic part of the iron and this air jacket serves toretain the heat within the iron where it can be utilized for ironingpurposes. Thehandle is then kept very cool and the-iron can bemanipulated wit comfort.

At its rear end the closure shell has the inclined wall 44 parallel withthe wall 19 of the terminal supporting frame and the wall 44 has theopening 45 through which the terminal blades 12 and 13 extend to beengaged by a suitable terminal plug (not shown). To guide the plug inits application to the terminal blades and to protect -'it after it isin place a guard frame 46 of sheet metal is provided. This frame has atongue 47 at its lower end engaging through the opening 45 and againstthe inner side of the shell, and at its upper end it has a flange 48which extends between the shell 28 and the ferrule 32, and has theopening 49 for receiving the screw 35. The tongue 47 and flange 48 thusserve'to support the guard frame securely in position when th iandle issecured in place. By removing the screws 34 and 35 the handle structure,the enclosing shell and the guard frame can be readily removed from theiron body without in anywise disturbing the electrical connections, theterminal supporting frame being secured entirely to the weight, and theterminal blades being rigidly secured to the frame. If it is desired toreplace a burnt out heating element the screws 10 and 11 are withdrawnand then the weight can be. removed from the heating element which canthen be disconnected from the terminal frame by loosening of theterminal screws 27'.

I thus produce a simple and efficient iron in which the heat of theheating element is used to maximum advantage for heatiiig the steel facewith which ironing is accomplished, there being very little dissipationor loss of heat. The continuous'insulating air space between theenclosure shell and the iron body keeps the top of-the iron cool so thatit can be manipulated with the greatest efiiciency and comfort.concentrating the heat on the steel face the iron will rapidly come tooperating temperature and will maintain such temperature with minimumcurrent consumption.

I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangementshown and described, as modifications are possible which will still comewithin the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows:

1. In an electric" flat iron,-the combination of a body part, anelectric heating element in said body part, terminal blades extendingfrom said body part and connected with said heating element, anenclosing shell for said body part having an opening through which saidblades extend, a handle on sa1d shell, a guard frame for said terminalblades, a flange on said guard frame extending through said opening andengaging against the inner side of said shell, a flange at the upper endof said guard frame extending below one end of said handle, and screwsextendingthrough said handle, said top flange and said shell forsecuring said parts with reference to the body part.

2. In an electric flat iron, the combination of an ironing base, aweight, an electric heating element clamped between said base andweight, a supporting frame arching, over the rear end of said weight andsecured,

thereto at one end and resting at its other end on said base, plugreceiving terminal blades supported on said frame and elec- By thustrically connected with said heating element,

an enclosing shell surrounding said weight and having an opening throughwhich the terminal blades project, a handle resting on said shell, and aclamping screw extending through said handle and through said shell andframe and threading into said Wei ht,

said screw clamping said handle in p ace 4 and clam ing said shell inplace around said weig t.

3. In an electric flat iron, thecombination of an ironing'plate, aweight, an electric heating element clamped between said Weight and pate, a supporting framearching over the rear end of saidwei ht, saidframe being secured at its'front en to said weight and separated fromsaid weight by a heat insulating; air space, plugreceiv n terminalsextending from said frame and of a body part, an electric heatingelement in said body part, a supporting frame arching over the rear endof said body partand secured at one end thereto, plug receivingterminals extending from said frame and connected with said heatingelement, an enclosing shell for said body part resting at I its frontend on said body part and at its rear end on said frame, insulatingmaterial between said shell and said body part and frame for keepingsaid shell se arated throughout its extent from said bo y part by a heatinsulating air space, a handle on said shell, and clamping screwsextending through said handle and through said shell and frame, andthreading into said body part, said screws rigidly supporting saidhandle and shell with reference to sai body art. p 5. In an electricflat iron, the combination of a body part, an electric heating elementin said body part, a supporting frame arch- .ing over the rear end ofsaid body part and secured at one end thereto, plug receivin terminalsextendin from said frame an connected with sai heating element, anenclosing shell resting at its front end on said body part and at itsrear end on said frame, a handle mounted on said shell, a clampin screwextending through said handle an said shell and frame and threading intosaid body part, a guard frame for said terminals, and a flange on saidguard frame extendin between said handle and shell to be clam d in placeto support the guard frame w en said handle is secured.

6. In an electric flat iron, the combination of an ironing face, aweight, an electric heating element clamped between said weight andface, said weight havin a notch in its rear end, a supporting framearching over said notch and secured at its front end to said weight,plug receiving terminals extendin from said frame and connected withsaid e ectric heating element, an enclosing shell for said weight havingan opening for receiving said terminals, a handle on said shell, aclamping screw extending through said handle and said shell and frameand threading into said weight, said shell resting at its front end onsaid weight and at its rear end on said frame, and insulating materialbetween said shell and said weight and frame for keeping said shellseparated at all points from said weight and from said frame.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 11 day of July, A.D., 1923.

THOMAS C. RUSSELL.

